Read Not Quite Married for Free Online Page B

realize they were becoming part of a bigger family.
    Logan let go of Julia’s hand and rubbed her shoulder as she reached for the platter of chicken. “We’ll clean up after dinner. You need to get some rest.”
    For the first time since the previous day, she actually seemed to relax, and she agreed with him. “Yeah, thank you,” she said.
    After dinner, though, there was nothing left to put in the fridge. Trinity scooped up the last of the potatoes, and Samuel forked the last piece of chicken. It was great watching his brother and Trinity and the back-and-forth conversation between them. When Trinity showed off her sparkly nail polish, Samuel oohed and aahed over it, telling her how pretty it was. She beamed, of course. The smooth talker had wrapped both girls around his finger!
    After dinner, when they’d cleaned up the dishes and the girls were doing homework at the kitchen table, Logan, Samuel, and Julia went into the living room to talk. Logan pulled Julia onto his lap in the easy chair, and she actually rested her head against his shoulder.
    Samuel took a spot on the sofa across from them. “Thanks again for a great dinner, Julia.”
    “You’re welcome, Samuel,” she said. She started to move off Logan’s lap, but he held her there, sliding his other arm around her.
    “No, stay put. Besides, we should talk about a few things now that Samuel’s here.”
    Her eyes widened, and he could see the hint of pink creeping into her cheeks.
    “Samuel has seen some cases that he said are unusual,” Logan added, watching his brother. He hoped he would go easy on Julia.
    “Julia, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that a good lawyer makes all the difference,” Samuel began. “Tanner’s a brilliant family law attorney. He’s honest, sharp. Your ex-husband has a really good lawyer, and he has to prove a number of things for you to be considered an unfit parent. Have you tried talking to him?” Samuel asked.
    Logan wanted to kick him. He could feel Julia pull away even though she didn’t move. It was the effect Kevin Cooper had on her. She still carried the hurt, the pain of someone she loved betraying her, and it had turned into a powerful hate. He could still feel the shadow of doubt lurking within her, and he knew she had trust issues because of it. “I’ll talk to him,” he said.
    “No, Logan. He’s not your problem,” Julia replied. She actually slid off his lap and stood before him. He said nothing as he watched her and waited for this flash of whatever it was to burn off. Maybe she needed to rant a bit.
    “Julia…” Samuel started, but Logan sent him a rather sharp look, which thankfully managed to get through that thick head of his.
    “Julia, it’s all right,” he said. “But, honey, you hate him. He is my problem, since you and the girls and I are family. We’re in this together. You two will just fight, but I can get him to listen to me.”
    “How’re you going to get him to listen to you when he won’t even listen to me?” She was now pacing, gesturing. He could see how quickly she was slipping into an overreaction again.
    “This is too personal for you. You need to listen to me on this,” he said. “He hurt you badly.”
    She stopped, and he watched her expression change, as if she was trying to figure out whether to be mad at him or to listen to what he was saying.
    “I can see what a piece of work he is,” Logan continued. “He’s playing something, working some angle. It would be best if I try to find out what’s really going on.”
    Julia was shaking her head just as the girls bounced into the living room. Dawn’s eyes widened as she picked up on her mom’s agitation. Logan stood up and almost stumbled when his leg started throbbing.
    “You okay, Logan?” Samuel said. He was now standing and moving around the girls, but he stopped short of reaching for Logan.
    “Yeah, fine,” he replied, maybe a little too sharply. He knew his brother wasn’t buying it.
    “Your